Toni Naluai says she is not upset with the driver of a pickup truck that crashed with a vehicle in Kailua, causing the death of her 13-year-old son.

The mother of Kaaikalau Kamakea-Naluai, who died in the crash, said, “;I understand completely. Her boy was involved in that, too. They weren't doing nothing crazy. They were going to church.”;

The driver is her cousin, a 33-year-old Waimanalo woman who lives nearby.

“;They lose my son,”; Naluai said. “;He was her boy, too. He spent a lot of time in their house. My kids and her kids were always together.

“;My boy and her oldest boy were in the bed of the truck,”; and he was his best friend, she said.

The accident occurred at 6:37 p.m. Wednesday on Kalanianaole Highway near the entrance to the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility.

Police said Kamakea-Naluai was critically injured after the truck lurched forward onto the highway when its tires, which had been stuck in the mud on the right shoulder, gained traction.

The truck was broadsided by a red sedan going in the Waimanalo direction, and Kamakea-Naluai flew from the truck bed and landed on the pavement, police said. He was taken in critical condition to a nearby hospital, where he died.

The 12-year-old boy riding with Kamakea-Naluai was taken to the hospital in stable condition, and his family said he was doing fine yesterday.

  The truck's cab and extra cab were full, with the driver's husband in the passenger seat and her other two sons, ages 8 and 9, seated in the extra cab, police said.

Naluai said her cousin was driving to church, but because of the bad weather, they decided to turn around and return home to Waimanalo. But the truck's tires got stuck in a muddy area, and when it got free the truck jumped into the street.

Police confirmed yesterday that initial reports provided to the media Wednesday night that the truck's driver was trying to cut across the left center lane from the right lane to make a U-turn were incorrect. Police arrested the woman on suspicion of second-degree negligent homicide, and she was released shortly afterward.

Kamakea-Naluai's father, Kakela Naluai, was angry, Toni Naluai said. “;We're all handling it our own way.”;

She said her sole remaining child, Blossom, 9, was trying to be strong.

“;She might be shutting down a bit. This is not like losing a dog.”;

Kamakea-Naluai was the grandson of well-known local entertainer Melveen Leed and retired physician Solomon Naluai.

Leed posted this statement on her Facebook page: “;My heart is crying big time. My step-grandson who was very close to me, only 13, died tonight. He was very close to my heart and died too young in an accident near Maunawili. I'm dying inside slowly and it's from the missing of which I know me and my family will feel even more tomorrow and the rest of our lives. Pray for him please ... Ka'ai Naluai. Our little angel.”;

Toni Naluai described her son as “;a very good boy,”; adding, “;We were just watching (a video of) him skateboarding. He loves to skateboard. He loves shoes.”;

She said the King Intermediate School student was intelligent and talented and could draw well.

He enjoyed drawing dinosaurs and dragons, “;anything mythical,”; as well as graffiti art.

His loss is also hard on his friends in the neighborhood and his cousins who were with him.

“;The boys are in shock,”; Naluai said.

Neighbor Jamie Aalona, 40, said Kamakea-Naluai was “;a good, good boy, soft, always says hi, always smiles.”;